One of the tragedies of modern thought and communication has been the deep
false assumption that faithful relationships, expressing Biblical love, agape love, are not also fun,
fulfilling, pleasurable, and erotic within a faithful marriage bond.The great resource, the Biblical book Song of Songs, has only 117 verses, but
it uses the ultimate love word “agape”
in the Greek (or AHAV in the Hebrew)
18 times, with erotic aspects of faithful romantic love clearly included.There are an additional 39 references to love
in the Song of Songs, using other
terms for love, for a total of 57 references to love in the 117 verses.

This is an average of one reference to love for every two verses in this
precious book in the Bible!

Here we examine a literal translation of the Song of Songs in light of contemporary issues.Tis literal translation was prepared by Dr.
Calvin Seerveld, PhD, and is used here by his
permission.

There is only one overt reference to the Lord in this greatest of all
songs, in Song of Songs 8:6:

The passionate drive of love is as all consuming as the most terrible
power!

Its flames are flashes of fire—a pure fire of the Lord!

CONSIDER:

We do know that unfaithfulness
powerfully separates us from the people we love.

After
all, even the anti-Scripture sexologists William Masters and Virginia Johnson
had to admit that their research proved—completely contrary to their previous
expectations—that the greatest and most reliable source of satisfying sexual
pleasure is a committed, faithful, one-woman-one-man relationship.(See their book, The Pleasure Bond, 1980.)

Reproduction
is not the only primary purpose of human sexuality.In this sexually focused book, there is no
reference to or even implication of children.Biblically there are three primary roles of human sexuality:

1.relationship
bonding – because both women and men are divine images.

2.reproduction
– being fruitful and multiplying as the Creator told the earliest humans.

3.recreation
– consuming shared pleasure within Godly marriages.

The Song
of Songs is a powerful Biblical book that puts these and other themes into
perspective.To accomplish this, three
characters are introduced: a beautiful Shulamite woman, a Shepherd who is her
true lover, and Solomon who tries to woo her with tired phrases and promises
that have worked with a thousand other women, but that fail to captivate the
beautiful, black Shulamite.

Who is
the Shulamite woman that so captivated Solomon’s attention for a brief
period?While there was also a Shunamite woman involved n the
story of David, and we know where Shunam is, nobody
knows where Shulam is.Not only do we not have the heroine’s name,
her defining origins are untraceable.In
common human terms, this beauty was “a nobody from
nowhere.”Nevertheless, this female
image of God, this princes in God’s Kingdom, had the extraordinary courage to
model true love in the presence of great temptation—and to embody wise
sexuality as an enduring personal exemplar for all time.

And who
is the Shepherd Lover?It could not have
been Solomon, since he was never a shepherd.Unlike his father—the shepherd who became an exemplary king—Solomon grew
up in the lap of luxury.Like the
Shulamite, the Shepherd remains nameless, and from nowhere.So this most famous love story does not
depend on the greatness of family origins or other distinguishing marks.Instead:

a.The
wise one-man-one-woman-one-God passionate relationship the exemplify stands on
its own integrity, and is not dependent on any other certification.

b.Without
the names or even detailed character development, it is perhaps easier for us
to identify—to place our own selves into the text and learn from this greatest
song of Scripture.

Application:
this Biblical “erotic-faithfulness” should be cultivated in

a.Sex
education—in homes, churches and schools

b.Focus
on “Pleasure bonds” of marriage

c.We can
transform the expectation that one must be unfaithful to be erotic.After all, even the anti-Scripture
sexologists William Masters and Virginia Johnson had to admit that their
research proved—completely contrary to their expectations—that the greatest and
most reliable source of satisfying sexual pleasure is a committed, faithful,
one-woman-one-man relationship.(see
their The Pleasure Bond.)

Importance
of the Song of Songs for the GOSPEL

a.After
the “Fall” to sin in Genesis 3 – we read about sexuality only for reproduction:
such as “begat, begat, begat…” in the King James Version

b.Now:
self-giving, relationship and pleasure = a great preparation for Jesus and his
life, teaching, ministry and extraordinary love for us.

c.Redemption
of sexuality: exploit the new term “Erotic-Faithfulness”

Paul de Vries’ note : This potent scripture
passage depicts the vital Godly standard I call “erotic faithfulness”, of
redeemed passion saved for marriage. Here faithful, devoted human sexuality is
recognized as a great gift of God – even a “pure fire of the Lord” in all its
terrible power. May the Word of God transform, guide, and liberate all of us.
Praise the LORD!

><><><><><><><><

Song
of Songs: Full Text of Literal Translation

Used by permission,
selections are taken and edited from Calvin Seerveld’s literal translation of
the Biblical Song of Songs, The
Greatest Song,

The Song opens with the young Shulamite woman taken unwillingly into Solomon’s harem.The women are already cooing about Solomon,
but the Shulamite is unhappy.When
Solomon comes in, he seems to praise her, but he is really talking about himself
only.Even as they have their first
chat, her heart is still with her
Shepherd Lover in the country, while Solomon talks about his grand
buildings and the jewelry he will place on her—and compares her with his horse,
mere livestock!

The Song opens with the young
Shulamite woman captured by Solomon’s scouts and taken unwillingly into his harem.The women are already cooing about Solomon, but the Shulamite is
unhappy.When Solomon comes in, he seems
to praise her, but he is really talking about himself only.Even as they have their first chat, her heart is still with her Shepherd Lover
in the country, while Solomon talks about his grand buildings and the
jewelry he will place on her—and compares her with his horse, mere livestock!

The Song of Songs has a theme
that is referenced at least four times—in 2:7; 3:5; 8:4 and 8:14.The positive answer for what is real and
natural is the climax 8:6.

Person

Text

Verses

Rhapsody I.Song 1:1-2:7

Announcer

The
Song of Songs, which is about Solomon

1:1

Chorus of veiled women

O! If he would only soak me
with the

Passionate kissings
of his mouth!

1:2

Solo
Voice

Your caresses are so much
more intoxicating than wine.

Another

The aroma of your salves
hangs sweet in the air . . .

1:3

Another

Your very name is soothing
like oil poured (upon the body – Solomon)

Another

That is why young women
fall in love with you.

Shulamite

(entering looking back)

Take me by the hand alone
with you again – hurry! (my lover)

The
King has brought me into his bedrooms!

1:4

Harem Chorus

We shall exult and
celebrate it with you! Let us drink!

“Your kisses are more intoxicating than
wine” –

Everyone who desires you is worthy, (O King!)

Shulamite

I am black; I am comely,
daughters of Jerusalem,

Dark as the tents of Kedar, dark as the

Rich tapestries of Solomon!

Do
not look at me because I am so dark,

Burned brown by the sun.

My
brothers were infuriated at me and

Made me guard the gardens –

myown garden I have left unguarded . . .

Tell
me aloud, my lover, where you are wandering

Where shall you lie (in the grass)
this noon?

Why
should I be a veiled woman in this

Herd of your bedfellows?

1:5

1:6

1:7

A Leading Harem Woman

If
you do not know (anything) my most beautiful woman,

Get
out and follow the shepherds;

Feed your goats around the huts of the
shepherds.

1:8

Narrator

[The
women withdraw as Solomon re-enters.]

Solomon

You remind me of my war
horse in the chariot

From Pharaoh, my lovely one.

How beautiful your cheeks
will be (half-hidden) in plaited (hair)!

How beautiful your neck
will be with a string of

Red and green coral shells!

Chains of gold with
ornaments of silver will be hammered out for you.

1:9

1:10

1:11

Shulamite

When the King was in his harem house, my
source of

Fragrance was spilling out of its
sweetness:

My
lover’s [head] lay betweenmy breasts
like a

little pouch of myrrh;

A
cluster of henna blossoms was my lover to me,

Found in the gardens of Engedi.

1:12

1:13

1:14

Solomon

Yes, you are well formed, my lovely one,
very pleasantly formed,

And your eyes are as
innocent as a dove . . .

1:15

Shulamite

My lover is well formed! Even wonderfully formed;

Our bed is a bed of fresh growing
flowers –

1:16

Solomon

The beams of our houses are made of well cut cedar

And the rafters are fashioned from
Phoenician juniper trees.

1:17

Shulamite

(But) I am a wild flower from the Sharon
plains,

A delicate red lily from the plain
country.

2:1

Solomon

Yes, you are like a lily, a lily next to –
thistles

That is what you are, my lovely
one,

Compared to the daughters (of Jerusalem).

2:2

Shulamite

(Reflecting almost to self; some harem women quickly
return, listen.)

My lover is like an apple
tree deep in the woods ,

An apple tree compared to
other young men.

How I longed to sit in his
shadow;

His fruit was always so sweet in my
mouth.

He would lead me out to an arbor,

And cover me there with his
love.

Help me! Give me something
to eat! Freshen me

With – apples! For I am lovesick . . .

O, if his left hand were only under my head and

his right arm holding me tight –

Daughters of Jerusalem! I
plead with you – do you

not know the gazelles and the hinds
of the plain country?

I plead with you,Never try to arouse or excite a
beloved! till the

Love comes naturally.

2:3

2:4

2:5

2:6

2:7

Editorial note

This last line of the Shulamite
in the first scene is the theme of
the whole Song, a theme repeated three times (2:7, 3:5, 8:4—and then
referenced in 8:14).

Rhapsody
II.Song 2:8-3:5

Narrator

[It is morning; the Shulamite alone on a
couch in a small room, is

suddenly attentive.]

2:8

Shulamite

The voice of my lover -? Is he coming?!

Tripping along the mountains
skipping over

The hills like young deer or gazelles
– so runs my lover.

There he is!

Outside our walls, looking in at the
windows

Trying to peer through the shutters.
He has answered

(my call)! My lover! – there he is singing
to me.

2:8

2:9

2:10

Her Shepherd Lover

Arise beloved, my beautiful one, Come
wander away

With me. The winter is past; the heavy
rains

Gone; New flowers shoot
forth from the earth, the

Turtle dove “coo” is heard.
The fig tree colors its unripe fruit;

All vines are bursting with
buds – O! the Fragrance.

Arise, beloved; my
beautiful one,

Come wander away with me.
In the clefts of the

Rock, In the lonely heights
of the mountains, I

Always hoped to see you
appear and strained to

Hear your singing, For your
voice is sweet and

Countenance so lovely . . .
Arise, beloved, my

Beautiful one, Come wander
away with me . . .

2:11

2:14

Shulamite

(responding with a ditty they used to sing together)

Catch the foxes. Catch the little foxes
which

Ruin the grapes and
gardens, For our vineyards are

Now in bloom. Catch the
foxes. Catch the little foxes!

2:15

Narrator

[Rustle of harem women coming; awakened by
her singing, curious to see what the matter is.]

Shulamite

My lover is mine, and I am his – He who
delights in red lilies.

Turn away! My lover.

(Run) like the gazelles or
a young deer to the

sweet smelling mountains, till the
day

fade away and the shadows (of
night) creep out . . .

2:16

2:17

Narrator

[Harem women surround her and the Shulamite
explains the commotion

as the troubled waking from a dream; her
lover has swiftly disappeared.]

Shulamite

During the night, while sleeping, I felt
as if my lover were there.

I tried to reach – but
could not grasp him.

I will get up; (I said) I must
embrace him.

Into the city, down the
streets and alleys,

I will pursue the love of my heart.

I tried to catch him, but could not
find him!

The watchmen who go about
throughout the city discovered me.

Have you seen my lover? (I
asked)

But scarcely had I passed
them by then I found him

I clutched the lover of my
heart and would not let

Him go, not till I had
brought him to the home of

My mother, to the
bedchamber where I was conceived.

Daughters of Jerusalem! I
plead with you – do you

Not know the gazelles and hinds of
the plain country?

I plead with you,
Never try to arouse or excite a beloved –

‘Till the love come naturally.

Dream?

3:1

3:2

3:3

3:4

Fanciful dream?

3:5

3:5

Narrator

[The lights turn out and the performers
leave in darkness; end of second rhapsody.]

Rhapsody
III.Song 3:6-4:7

Narrator

[The Shulamite, now veiled, disconsolately
passing time with the

women in the harem confines; royal music
in the distance.]

One of the Women (looking out a window)

What is that coming up out of the distant
grass-

lands surrounded by columns of
smoke from

torches, perfumed by burning myrrh
and

frankincense and all kinds of
foreign spices?

3:6

Another

Look! It is the traveling couch of
Solomon!

Sixty mighty men surround
it, sixty of Israel’s heroes,

Each man gripping a sword,
experienced in battle,

Each man with a sword on
his thigh to keep away fear in the night.

3:7

3:8

Another

King Solomon has made this litter from
Lebanon wood!

Its poles are made of
silver! Its cloths of support are made of gold!

Its sitting place is
purple-covered! Inside it is

fitted out for – love making . . . !

3:9

3:10

Another Woman

Daughters of Jerusalem! Come out!
Daughters of

Zion! Come see King Solomon crowned
with

the crown his mother gave him on his
wedding day.

3:11

Narrator

[The harem women run out to look; the Shulamite
remains alone inside; the music

and bustle outside finally subside;
Solomon enters the room admired by the harem

women who withdraw to the background when
they see he means to talk to the Shulamite.]

Editorial note

Solomon
tries to woo the Shulamite three times, but always using very similar words
(4:1-5,

6:4-7, 7:1-9a).This is remarkable, since the book is so
short, anyway!Solomon found a few

lines that worked on a thousand women, but this young woman is already in love and

committed to someone else – and wealth,
pleasure, and fine words do not change the Shulamite’s commitment to the
Shepherd!Here is his first attempt.

Solomon

Come here, my lovely one!

You are pleasantly formed, very
pleasantly formed.

Your eyes are as innocent as a dove
behind the veil.

Your hair (floats as gently)
as a herd of goats

wending its way down Mt. Gilead.

Your teeth (shine out) like
a flock of sheep newly

shorn coming up out of their
watering place

not one of which is barren, all of
which will be bearing twins.

Your lips are like a red
ribbon. Your mouth is so Pretty.

Your temples are like a
piece of pomegranate

(hidden) behind your veil.

Your neck (stands majestic)
like a tower of David

Built for battle, where a thousand
shields

Might be hung, all of them shields
of heroes!

Your breasts are like two
little fawns, twins of

A gazelle, which fed among the
lilies . . .

4:1

4:2

4:3

4:4

4:5

Shulamite

[INTERRUPTING] Till the day fade away and
the shadows (of night) creep out!

4:6a

Solomon

I will wait in a mountain of myrrh and in
hill of frankincense!

All of you is very pleasantly formed,
my lovely one,

Not a blemish anywhere.

4:6b

4:7

Narrator

[The lights turn
out; “connoisseur” King Solomon and the Shulamite

“country girl”
leave in the darkness; end of the third rhapsody.]

Rhapsody IV.Song 4:8-6:3

Narration

[Early evening has come;
dozing fitfully the Shulamite maiden is alone in her room; she is dreaming;
the melody of“arise, beloved, my
beautiful one” is heard at a distance; the Shulamite starts to awaken as the
song comes nearer and the words audible. … MUSIC.]

Her Shepherd Lover

Come away with
me from that Lebanon, my bride.

Come away with me from that Lebanon.
Come down

From that in-accessible thicket of
Amana [Truth]. Come

Down from that snow-clad top of Mt. Shenir and

Hermon. Come out of that den of lions!
Come

Out of those leopard caves!

4:8

Narrator

[Pause in the
singing; the lover climbs and struggles and penetrates to

the level of the
Shulamite’s window, nearer, but still at a distance;

they look at one
another intently.]

Her Shepherd Lover

You make my
heart beat hard, my bride, my sister.

You make my heart beat stronger with
just one

Glance of your eyes, by a
single movement of

Your throat.

How lovely is your love, my bride, my sister?

How much more gently flowing is your
love even

Than wine, and the odors of
your oils are

Sweeter than the scent of
any balsam.

O, my bride! Your words fall soft like
drops of

Honey, (as if) honey and
milk lay under your

Tongue, and the smell of
your clothes is as

Fragrant as the shrubs of
Lebanon, a garden!

A garden closed off, A well covered over,

A fountain sealed tight - - is my bride to be.

A
paradise garden of pomegranate trees filled with

choice fruits – your virgin
womb is this, (my beloved!)

(You are an untouched garden) of
blooming henna

bushes and spikenard plants,
of calamus and

saffron flowers, of cinnamon
and Indian aloe

trees, all kinds of incense
trees, (with the

air full of) nard and myrrh
and the very best spices –

A garden! A spring of bubbling waters
flowing

Down from Mt. Lebanon.

4:9

4:10

4:11

4:12

Shulamite is

a virgin

4:13

4:14

4:15

Shulamite

Wake up, North Wind!
Come here, South Wind! Blow

Through my garden and waft its spicy odors that my

Lover may come to his garden and
taste its sweet

Fruits. Ah ---!

4:16

Her
Shepherd Lover

I come to my
garden, my bride-to-be. I gather my

Myrrh and spice. I taste of the honey
in my honey

Comb, And drink deep of the wine and
the milk.

5:1

Narrator

[Interruption;
commotion; the harem women come to deck the

Shulamite for
the bridal night; flustered, she turns away from the

window in
consternation.]

Her
Shepherd Lover

Eat and drink, my friends! Get drunk with
your love-makings!

Shulamite

I was asleep! But I was awake – the voice
of my lover!?

Is he knocking?! Open the
door for me, my be-

Loved, my sister, my dove, my
beautiful one!

(Open the door for me, I thought
I heard him say,)

For my head is covered with
dew, and my hair

is damp with moisture of the
night.

But I have put off my clothes!
( I said ) –

Oh! Should I put them back on
again?!

My feet are already washed!
Shall I go out

And get them dirty again?

My lover put his hand
through the opening of the door . . .

My senses left me at his
presence, I turned all dizzy inside.

I stood up to open the door
to my lover.

And my hands were moist
with myrrh, my fingers

Were wet with myrrh on the grip of
the lock.

I opened the door to my
lover –

But my lover had turned away! He
was gone!

And I sought him without
finding him! I called out

To him, and he did not answer me!

The watchmen that go about
the city saw me – They

Grabbed me, beat me, horribly hurt
me! and

Took away my clothes – those
watchmen of the (city) walls.

Daughters of Jerusalem! I
plead with you – if you

Should find my lover – but what
could you

Tell him!? – ( tell him) I am love
sick . . .

5:2

dream again?

5:3

5:4

5:5

5:6

5:7

5:8

A
Head Woman of the Harem

But what is your
lover compared to (the line of)

David, most beautiful woman?

What is your lover compared to (the
line of)

David! That you should speak
so insistently

(about him) to us?

5:9

Shulamite

My bronze and
ruddy lover is one in a thousand!

His head stands out like the finest
gold, and his

Shock black raven locks of hair
shake all (around it).

His (gentle) eyes look out as
peaceful as a pair

Of doves washing themselves in
milk at the

Edge of a running brook.

His cheeks are a bed of perfume, a
retreat of

Sweet-smelling herbs.

His lips like red lilies trickle
drops of myrrh.

His arms (flash) like rolls of gold
set with

Precious stones from Tarshish.

His (hard flat) belly is an art work
in ivory

Covered over (as it were)
with white sapphires.

His (sturdy) legs are marble pillars
built on gold foundations.

His appearance as a whole is more
striking than

The greatest cedars of Mt.
Lebanon

His mouth – his kisses are a
ravishing sweetness!

All of him is altogether precious!

This is my lover! So is my
man!

Daughters of Jerusalem!

5:10

5:11

5:12

5:13

5:14

5:15

5:16

Head
Woman of the Harem

Where has your
lover gone, most beautiful woman?

To where has
your lover turned away? So that we

May search for him with
you.

6:1

Shulamite

My lover has climbed up to his garden, to
the

Spicy flower bed,

To drink in the charm of the
paradise, and to

Gather up the red
lilies.

I belong to my lover, And my lover
belongs to me.

He is the one, the only one, who
shall gather in

The red lilies. Ah - - -

6:2

Exclusive
and devoted!

6:3

Narrator

[The lights turn
out to end the fourth rhapsody; the women dress the

Shulamite in the
darkness.]

Rhapsody V.Song 6:4 - 8:4

Narrator

[Solomon comes
stately in to get the new bride; the harem women watch with fascination, and
then withdraw a little way.]

Solomon

My!You have been dressed well, my lovely one:

You are as pleasantly clad as Tirzah,
as beautiful

As Jerusalem –
frighteningly impressive!

[What is it?]Do not look at me so! Your eyes disturb me
. . !

Your hair [floats as gently] as a
herd of goats

Wending its way down Mt. Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock ofmother sheep coming

Up out of their watering
place.

- all soon to be bearing twins, not a
one barren.

Your temples are like a piece of pomegranate

[hidden] behind your veil.

6:4

6:5

6:6

6:7

Narrator

[Suddenly a
ringing young voice penetrates clearly into the room from out

beyond the
window; the Shulamite stands transfixed.]

Her
Shepherd Lover

King Solomon has
sixty queens, eighty concubines,

And a hoardof young girls

This one only is mine,this innocent dove – my Beautiful One!

This is the only daughter of her
mother, her favorite child!

Women have seen her and always
marveled; even the

Queens and concubines have
praised her --

6:8

Male 3rd person reference to Solomon (see
also 8:11, 12)

6:9

Chorus
of Harem Women

Who is that just
visible out there? !

[Who is that shining] down so red as the morning sky?

Handsome as the moon, brilliant as the

sun, majestic as the glowing planet
in the sky?!

6:10

Narrator

[Solomon, irate,
dispatches some guards to get the trespasser; the harem

women begin to
rush out the room as Shulamite speaks to Solomon.]

Shulamite

[The other day]
When I went down to the grove of walnut trees to see the budding flowers by
the brook, to seewhether the vines
had burst into blossom and the
pomegranates were abloom.Before I
knew it you[O King]had had me set fast in the royal traveling
couch. [ I will away ! ! ]

6:11

6:12

Narrator

[She turns her
back to Solomon, forlorn but determined.]

Harem
Women

Turn around,
turn around, oh Shulamite!

Turn around, turn around, so we can
see you !

6:13

Shulamite

What do you want
to see in “the Shulamite” !

The sword dance of the bride from Mahanaim?

Narrator

[At this outburst the women withdraw; the Shulamite
breaks into crying; Solomon watches, but still determined to win her, begins
again his advances.]

Solomon

FOOTNOTE

How elegant is your walk in

those [new] shoes, “Royal
Daughter” !

The curve of your thighs is a womanly
ornament

Fashioned by the hand of a
master artist.

Your navel is like a little round cup
and needs

To be filled full with spicy
wine.

Your belly is like a [shimmering]
mound of wheat

Encircled by lilies.

Your breasts are like two little
fawns, twins of a Gazelle.

Your [lovely] neck is a tower of
ivory.

Your eyes are [as deep as] the pools
near Heshbon,

At the gates of that great
city.

Your nose is like the tower of
Lebanon which looks

Out toward Damascus.

Your whole head is as stately as Mt.
Carmel.

Your [tantalizing] hanging locks of hair
glisten

Dark – a king ! is caught
in those tresses.

How well formed, how pleasantly
formed you are –

Beloved! – compared to the
most delightfully enchanting things.

Your flowing figure reminds me of a
palm tree,

Your breasts are like
clusters of dates –

I said to myself, I will go climb the
palm tree!

I will go grab hold of its
date clusters

Your breasts will roll over me like
clusters of grapes;

The breath of your nose will fill me
like the

Smell of [ripe]apples;

Your kisses will flow like sweet wine
…

A
Footnote on Solomon

How could Solomon act so stupidly—and so demeaning of this
woman—if he is also the wisest man?The blunt fact is that someone can have great wisdom and still not use
any of that substantial wisdom.“Stupid is as stupid does,” is a wise observation of the mythical
Forrest Gump, a retarded man, the hero in the movie named for him.As a result of his very unwise addiction to
sex, the summary of Solomon’s life is all the more tragic (I Kings 11:1-13)
when we think of his potential.

The Biblical response to perverted sex—as in Solomon’s sex
addiction and also the fertility cults surrounding the Jewish people at the
time of the writing of the Song of Songs—similar in some ways to 21st
century sexualized culture of rampant pornography, perversion and pollution
of sex—is not a puritanical judgment or evasion of the sensitive questions,
but instead:

1.A celebration of God’s gifts of
sex—honoring the Eternal Designer, Creator and Savior of human sexuality.

2.A focus on sexual expression as
the Lord directs in the commandments and good models of Scripture: committed
one-woman-one-man-one-God relationships.

3.A model the pure, devoted,
exclusive passion that God himself enflames and contrast it with the twisted
and impure that degrades and demeans.

4.To honor God in his special
central role, in the very center of enduring passion that expresses his
powerful presence, “the pure fire of the Lord.” (8:6)

EDITOR’S
NOTE

NOTE: At this
moment the Shulamite (perhaps also hearing her Shepherd Lover outside)
interrupts Solomon.Other translators
have a difficult time with this reference to “tired lips” or the “lips of
those that sleep”Literal translator Seerveld’s phrase “well-worn” lips captures some of what
the Shulamite thought of Solomon, an opinion was shared by Godly leaders of
Solomon’s time.

In their
climactic reunion, the Shulamite and the Shepherd Lover sing some of the most
memorable words of passionate love, such as “at our openings are the sweetest
fruit.”Other translations say
something like “we keep the fresh fruit at the door,” but this misses the
passionate meaning of the text.Well,
let us now return to the Shulamite’s abrupt interruption of Solomon’s
rehearsed “passion,” her definitive rejection of his ‘love,’ and her
restoration to her Shepherd Lover.

Narrator

[As he goes to
raise her veil, the Shulamite, shamed at such language, righteously angry,
breaks away, and cuts him off witheringly.]

Shulamite{interrupting Solomon}

… wine flowing
straight to the mouth of only my lover!

Not touching at all
such well-worn lips!

I belong to my lover! And only his
passionate desire is for me!

7:9b

7:10

Narrator

[At this moment the
guards enter with Her Shepherd Lover; and the harem women crowd in behind. Shulamite
runs to her lover while Solomon leaves.]

Shulamite

My
lover!Come! Let
us go away, back to the open plain country!

Let us go spend the nights among the
henna blossoms.

Let us go visit the gardens early,
early in the morning, to see

Whether the vines have burst
into blossom,

Whether the budding flowers have
opened up,

Whether the pomegranates have
come to a bloom

There I will give you my caresses:

The apples of love bear a
misting fragrance,

And at our openings are the
sweetest fruits –

The old as well as new fruits I have
kept safe,

Save up for you, my lover!

O! if you were only a brother that
sucked the

Breasts of my mother, I would
cover you with

Kisses here in public now
that I have found

You, and no one could think
me immodest!

O! if I could only lead you
[immediately] to the

Home of my mother who brought
me up,

[then] I would give you a
tingling wine to drink,

the freshly pressed-out wine
of my pomegranates !

O, if his
left hand were only under my head and

His right arm holding me tight – Ah
---

7:11

7:12

7:13

[powerful image]

8:1

8:2

8:3

Shulamite

Daughters
of Jerusalem! I charge you - !

Why did you try to arouse and excite
a beloved

Before the love came
naturally ?

8:4

Rhapsody VISong 8:5 – 14

Narrator

[The troubled
brothers of the Shulamite stand about near one of the

vineyards which
they had made her guard alone.]

The
Eldest Brother

Who is that
there coming up out of distant

Grasslands, learning upon her lover!?

8:5

Narrator

[Shulamite and
her lover pause at the far corner of the family orchard; in

Sight, but not in
the hearing range of the brothers]

Her
Shepherd Lover

It was under
[that] apple tree I first woke you up

[to love, my beloved], [at
home] there where

your mother gave you birth.

Narrator

[They move to
the spot and take, or renew as it were their marriage vow,

facing one
another.]

Her
Lover

Hold me as a
seal to your heart ;

8:6

Shulamite

Keep me as a
signet ring upon your finger.

8:6

Her
Lover

For love is as
permanent as death,

Shulamite

And the
passionate drive of love is as all consuming

As the most terrible power !

Her
Lover

Its flames
are flashes of fire --

Shulamite

A pure
fire of Lord God ! = shelhebeth-yah =יָהּ= fire of Yahweh

Her
Lover

Streams of water
cannot put it out ;

8:7

Shulamite

Floods of water
shall never quench the fire of love

Her
Lover

If another man
were to give all the treasures of

His house for love?

Shulamite

He would be
utterly despised !

Narrator

[The Shulamite and
her lover move on to where her brothers are congregated.]

Shulamite

[Long ago my brothers
said,] Our little sister

has no breasts,

[But] what shall we do for our sister
when the

lovers begin to come?

If she be modestly chaste, we shall
set upon her

[head]a crown of silver;

But if she would dally with them all,
we will

Barricade [the way] to her
with planks of wood.

My breasts are as towers! And I am a virgin,
chaste.

I am come now before them to await
[their] blessing.

8:8

8:9

8:10

Her
Lover

Solomon has a
[huge] vineyard near Baal-Hamon and has

Placed others in charge
to watch it- for its

Fruits men must pay a
thousand pieces of silver!

The thousand are yours, [king]
Solomon! And may

The watchmen [of your
walls] have hundreds!

My [single] vineyard here before me
is for me alone.

O! [beloved!] youwho are so at home in the lovely

Gardens, all the people
here are waiting to

Hear your voice – let me
hear it too !

8:11

Male 3rd person reference to Solomon (see
also 6:8)

8:12

8:13

Shulamite

Like the gazelle
or a young deer, Take me quickly

Away my lover,Out to the sweet-smelling mountains.

8:14

Narrator

[Her lover
escorts the Shulamite; the lights turn off and the performers

leave in the
darkness; end of the sixth and last rhapsody.]

Paul de Vries’ note : This potent scripture passage
depicts the vital Godly standard I call “erotic faithfulness” of redeemed
passion saved for marriage.In the Song of Songs, faithful and devoted
human sexuality is recognized as a great gift of God – even a “pure fire of the
Lord”(8:6) in all its tremendous, transforming power. May all the Word of God transform, guide, and
liberate all of us. Praise the LORD!

Some key lessons from…

Song of Songs

Relevant for personal
growth or for Church-based sex education programs

b.Wedding ceremony reminds us
of the 3-way bonding: “Whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder”

c.SOS 8:6 – Passionate love
itself is a gift from God.

Erotic passion is part of the special, Biblical, agape love [in Greek: agaph (agape); in Hebrew: בהא(ahav)]—deeply devoted sacrificial love referenced
35 times in this short book—It is a precious, extraordinary gift of the Lord
God, our creator and savior—his “pure fire” (8:6).

Biblically speaking, reproduction is not the only primary purpose of
human sexuality.In this sexually
focused book, there is no reference to or even implication of children.Biblically there are three primary roles of
human sexuality, two of which are celebrated here:

Sin
twisted all three—so that the fruit of reproduction is often the only reference
to sexuality in the Hebrew Scriptures.This book dramatically restores the first two.

The theme stated three times in this little book, Song of Songs:
essentially it states that we should never “make love” – never pump it up, push
it or fabricate it.(2:7, 3:5, and 8:4)Too much of 21st century sexuality is pumped up by
pornography, dirty talk, abusive behavior and falsified affection.The antidote is the “pure fire of the Lord”
(8:6). This Biblical wisdom is intensely relevant today—but, tragically, most
translators refuse to state this phrase literally.

How could Solomon be so stupid, if he is also the wisest man?The blunt fact is that someone can have great
wisdom and still not use any wisdom.“Stupid is as stupid does,” is a wise observation of the mythical
Forrest Gump, a retarded man, the hero in the movie named for him.As a result of his very unwise addiction to
sex, the summary of Solomon’s life is all the more tragic (I Kings 11:1-13)
when we think of his potential.

Who is the Shulamite woman that so captivated Solomon’s attention for a
brief period?While there was also a
Shunamite woman involved n the story of David, and we know where Shunam is,
nobody knows where Shulam is.Not only
do we not have the heroine’s name, her defining origins are untraceable.In normal human terms, this beauty was a nobody from nowhere.Nevertheless, this female image of God, this princes in God’s Kingdom,
had the extraordinary courage to model true love in the presence of great
temptation—and to embody wise sexuality as an enduring exemplar for all
time.

And who is the Shepherd Lover? It could not have been Solomon, since he was
never a shepherd.Unlike his father—the
shepherd who became an exemplary king—Solomon grew up in the lap of luxury.Like the Shulamite, the Shepherd remains
nameless, and from nowhere.So this most
famous love story does not depend on the greatness of family origins or other
distinguishing marks.Instead:

a.The wise
one-man-one-woman-one-God passionate relationship the exemplify stands on its
own integrity, and is not dependent on any other certification.

b.Without the names or even
detailed character development, it is perhaps easier for us to identify—to
place our own selves into the text and learn from this greatest song of
Scripture.

The Biblical response to perverted sex—as in the fertility cults
surrounding the Jewish people at the time of the writing of the Song of Songs,
similar in some ways to 21st century sexualized culture of rampant
pornography, perversion and pollution of sex—is not puritanical judgment or
evasion of the sensitive questions, but…

a.Celebration of God’s gifts
of sex—honoring the Eternal designer, creator and savior of human sex.

b.Focus sexual expression as
he directs in the commandments and models of Scripture: committed
one-woman-one-man-one-God relationships.

c.Model the pure passion and
contrast it with the twisted and impure.

d.Honor God in his special
central role, in the center of enduring passion, “the pure fire of the Lord.”
(8:6)

Application: this Biblical “erotic-faithfulness” should be cultivated
in

a.Sex education—in homes,
churches and schools

b.Focus on “Pleasure bonds”
of marriage

c.We can transform the
expectation that one must be unfaithful to be erotic.After all, even the anti-Scripture
sexologists William Masters and Virginia Johnson had to admit that their
research proved—completely contrary to their expectations—that the greatest and
most reliable source of satisfying sexual pleasure is a committed, faithful,
one-woman-one-man relationship.(see
their The Pleasure Bond.)

Importance of the Song of Songs for the GOSPEL

a.After the “Fall” to sin in
Genesis 3 – we read about sexuality only for reproduction: such as “begat,
begat, begat…” in the King James Version

b.Now: self-giving,
relationship and pleasure = a great preparation for Jesus and his life,
teaching, ministry and extraordinary love for us.

c.Redemption of sexuality: we
can create the new term “Erotic-Faithfulness”

A Note on Solomon

How
could Solomon act so stupidly—and so demeaning of this woman—if he is also the
wisest man?The blunt fact is that
someone can have great wisdom and still not use any of that substantial
wisdom.“Stupid is as stupid does,”
is a wise observation by the fictitious character Forrest Gump, a retarded man,
the “hero” in the movie named for him.As a result of his very unwise addiction to sex, the summary of
Solomon’s life from the Lord’s point of view is all the more tragic (I Kings
11:1-13) when we think of his potential.

The
Biblical response to perverted sex—as in Solomon’s sex addiction and also the
fertility cults surrounding the Jewish people at the time of the writing of the
Song of Songs—similar in some ways to 21st century sexualized
culture of rampant pornography, perversion and pollution of sex—is not a
puritanical judgment or evasion of the sensitive questions, but instead:

1.A celebration of God’s
gifts of sex—honoring the Eternal Designer, Creator and Savior of human
sexuality.

2.A focus on sexual
expression as the Lord directs in the commandments and good models of
Scripture: committed one-woman-one-man-one-God relationships.

3.A model the pure, devoted,
exclusive passion that God himself enflames and contrast it with the twisted
and impure that degrades and demeans.

4.To honor God in his special
central role, in the very center of enduring passion that expresses his
powerful presence, “the pure fire of the Lord.” (8:6)